18 February 2012
02 November 2011
Show and Tell
Wednesday! Where did you come from? Today I am sharing links about singledom and relationships as I've been more focused and more worried about singledom recently. Probably a melancholy blog post coming up about that (joy!) but until then, here's some funnier takes:
1. This book sounds absolutely amazing! I particularly like the poems about eating on your way home and how sometimes being alone can be the loveliest thing.
2. My Super Power is Being Alone Forever (sort of how I feel at the moment!) is a guy's perspective on singledom.
3. I love this take on Baby Got Back and it reminded me of this video which cracks me up (because I am lame- but c'mon- double links!)
1. This book sounds absolutely amazing! I particularly like the poems about eating on your way home and how sometimes being alone can be the loveliest thing.
2. My Super Power is Being Alone Forever (sort of how I feel at the moment!) is a guy's perspective on singledom.
3. I love this take on Baby Got Back and it reminded me of this video which cracks me up (because I am lame- but c'mon- double links!)
31 October 2011
27 October 2011
Happy (Belated) Birthday Ampelmann!
When I went to Berlin a few years ago to visit my friend and her boyfriend, my aim was to go near Christmas and shop like crazy. And I did. And I ate loads of amazing Christmas market mushrooms. But I was also introduced to the Ampelmann.
"The success story of the Ampelmännchen is closely linked with the chequered history of the capital. Only when Germany was reunified did the figures move into the limelight. When plans to replace the GDR design with West German traffic light symbols were revealed, a surge of indignation swept through the country and the Ampelmännchen advanced to the status of beloved cultural artefacts. When the little chaps found their way into the western part of the city, it became clear that the Ampelmännchen are a symbol of reunified Berlin and a lifestyle product all rolled into one."
They've even got entire Ampelmann shops and I've got to tell you, I really struggled not to bring any Ampelmann shaped pasta home. I ended up buying some cute little cookie cutters and thought it would be good to whip them out to celebrate the recent 50th birthday of the Ampelmann.
Erm, I got a little bit distracted at one point and so a bunch came out tanner than the others. I've got one 'go' who is his own person and is walking in a completely different direction to the others. I've also got loads more 'stop'ones, not because I was feeling negative but because a bunch of the 'go' ones had broken legs and were resigned to my mouth.
These little guys are the pedestrian signals from the east side of the city. They were designed in 1961 and apparently became quite the national treasure. The Visit Berlin website says this:
"Designed in East Berlin in 1961 to reduce the risk of accidents from the increase in road traffic, the luminous little men were first deployed at the Friedrichstraße/Unter den Linden crossroads. Strolling along this famous boulevard, Berlin’s visitors can therefore admire yet another object of interest: take a close look upwards as you cross the street and a piece of contemporary history will be blinking at you.
"The success story of the Ampelmännchen is closely linked with the chequered history of the capital. Only when Germany was reunified did the figures move into the limelight. When plans to replace the GDR design with West German traffic light symbols were revealed, a surge of indignation swept through the country and the Ampelmännchen advanced to the status of beloved cultural artefacts. When the little chaps found their way into the western part of the city, it became clear that the Ampelmännchen are a symbol of reunified Berlin and a lifestyle product all rolled into one."
They've even got entire Ampelmann shops and I've got to tell you, I really struggled not to bring any Ampelmann shaped pasta home. I ended up buying some cute little cookie cutters and thought it would be good to whip them out to celebrate the recent 50th birthday of the Ampelmann.
I saved their little heads though. Bwahaha. Did a bit of experiment with melted chocolate and bobbles to give them proper hats and shoes, but decided I preferred them nice and plain and sugar cookie-y. As illustrated in below photo (clearly not a food blogger or a proper blogger at all- left loads of crumbs and bobbles on the surface to appear in the photo!) Cute though, right?
26 October 2011
Show and Tell
Ah, mid-week, here we are again! So, to brighten up a dreary and grey October day, here's some pretty things to look at.
1. I think these paper flowers look like a lot of fun to make, not sure if I would be up to the challenge but I like staring at the tutorial anyway.
2. These scans of Good Housekeeping Home Dress Making book are great. I love the illusrtrations.
3. Finally, I can't decide what I like best in this shop. The decorative tape is fun, but the cards are all beautiful as well. I particularly like the stamps drawings, the man with a house on his head and one of a rabbit in the grass.
1. I think these paper flowers look like a lot of fun to make, not sure if I would be up to the challenge but I like staring at the tutorial anyway.
2. These scans of Good Housekeeping Home Dress Making book are great. I love the illusrtrations.
3. Finally, I can't decide what I like best in this shop. The decorative tape is fun, but the cards are all beautiful as well. I particularly like the stamps drawings, the man with a house on his head and one of a rabbit in the grass.
25 October 2011
Windsor Castle
My parents and I have always meant to visit Windsor Castle- whenever they drive me home we go past signs for Windsor- so this summer we decided to finally go.
I've taken so long to get anything up, and I've got to say I didn't take too many photos now that I look back. The place I wanted to take the most photos was the kitchen during the tour but that wasn't allowed as we were in the proper royal residence then. So, all I can say I very highly recommend going on the kitchen tour. It is amazing- massive and filled with historic pots and pans with date stamps. The giant fryers, soup tureens and beaters for eggs were mind blowing and I like the fact that the sinks are lined with rubber so that none of the very old china gets chipped. Quite smart that!
I think I'll just finish off now with some photos of posh ice cream and a great grammatical error that tickled me.
I've taken so long to get anything up, and I've got to say I didn't take too many photos now that I look back. The place I wanted to take the most photos was the kitchen during the tour but that wasn't allowed as we were in the proper royal residence then. So, all I can say I very highly recommend going on the kitchen tour. It is amazing- massive and filled with historic pots and pans with date stamps. The giant fryers, soup tureens and beaters for eggs were mind blowing and I like the fact that the sinks are lined with rubber so that none of the very old china gets chipped. Quite smart that!
I think I'll just finish off now with some photos of posh ice cream and a great grammatical error that tickled me.
24 October 2011
Lunchtime
There's a new ad on the telly at the moment for KFC. Normally I wouldn't pay attention to those kind of ads- as a veggie fried chicken isn't really my thing. But there's a great sentiment about work and lunch.
As a boss pesters his colleague about work related matters, she pulls out a cardboard tube and shouts down it 'Lunchtime is my time!' and it got me thinking about a lot of discussions I've been having recently with my colleagues about break times.
As everyone tightens their belts, we're finding more than ever that there is pressure (either transparant or passive-aggressive) on people to sho they're working hard and certain elements of judgement about people who take work breaks.
I tend to eat at my desk about three-four times a week so I can carry on working and then meet with friends for lunch one-two times per week. Sometimes I feel insanely guilty depending on whether my decison to take a break is noticed and commented on, other times I don't really feel the need to take a break so don't mind sitting at my desk. However, I do strongly feel that everyone is entitled to their proper lunch break and should be able to do with it as they please without comment or guilt-trip
Do you tend to take full lunch breaks? Does your work place have a nice break-time culture or do you feel sneaky if you leave your desk?
As a boss pesters his colleague about work related matters, she pulls out a cardboard tube and shouts down it 'Lunchtime is my time!' and it got me thinking about a lot of discussions I've been having recently with my colleagues about break times.
As everyone tightens their belts, we're finding more than ever that there is pressure (either transparant or passive-aggressive) on people to sho they're working hard and certain elements of judgement about people who take work breaks.
I tend to eat at my desk about three-four times a week so I can carry on working and then meet with friends for lunch one-two times per week. Sometimes I feel insanely guilty depending on whether my decison to take a break is noticed and commented on, other times I don't really feel the need to take a break so don't mind sitting at my desk. However, I do strongly feel that everyone is entitled to their proper lunch break and should be able to do with it as they please without comment or guilt-trip
Do you tend to take full lunch breaks? Does your work place have a nice break-time culture or do you feel sneaky if you leave your desk?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)